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Category: Productivity

Adam Engst 16 comments

AppBITS: Stapler Opens Multiple Apps, Documents, and Folders

If you prefer a task-based method of working that requires assembling multiple apps, documents, and folders, take a look at Stapler, a modern-day take on several classic Mac apps from yesteryear.

Adam Engst 6 comments

Do You Use It? Moderate Usage of iPhone Apps on M-Series Macs

The results of our poll asking readers how often they use iPhone or iPad apps on an Apple silicon Mac show that roughly half don’t do it at all, but the other half appreciate the capability. If you didn’t realize you could do this, give it a try!

Adam Engst 13 comments

Comparing Blogtrottr, Feedrabbit, and Follow.it for Receiving RSS Feeds in Email

For those who prefer to receive their news and information in email, an RSS-to-email service lets you follow blogs, newsletters, and other services that publish RSS feeds without using a newsreader app. Adam Engst compares Blogtrottr, Feedrabbit, and Follow.it.

Adam Engst 91 comments

Do You Use It? iPhone and iPad Apps on M-Series Macs

This week’s Do You Use It? poll asks owners of Apple silicon Macs how often they use iPhone or iPad apps on their Macs.

Adam Engst 30 comments

Help Build a Tool To Track Apple Support Page Changes

It’s possible to write software that can traverse the entire universe of Apple support pages. Wouldn’t it be helpful if there were a tool that would tell you which pages were new or had changed? 

Adam Engst 3 comments

Adam Engst Joining CCATP Podcast Regularly

If you like TidBITS and Apple tech podcasts, take note: Adam Engst is now a regular contributor to Allison Sheridan’s Chit Chat Across the Pond podcast. For the inaugural episode, they talk about how to avoid missing calendar and reminder notifications and a slew of related topics.

Adam Engst 6 comments

Just Due It: Persistent Notifications for Tasks

In his continuing search for apps that don’t let you forget something because you missed a single notification, Adam Engst looks at Due, which provides persistent notifications for reminders on all your Apple devices.

Adam Engst 4 comments

In Your Face Provides Persistent Notifications for Events and Tasks

Tired of being late to meetings because you were focused on a task and missed a subtle notification in the corner of the screen? The In Your Face app takes over the entire Mac screen for its alerts, ensuring you never miss an event again.

Michael E. Cohen No comments

Experiencing Art Immersion with the Vision Pro

Using the Art Authority Museum app for the Vision Pro, you can virtually wander among many masterpieces of Western art. Michael Cohen reports on his explorations.

Adam Engst 8 comments

Slack to Stop Storing Historical Content for Free Workspaces

Slack will be reducing its data storage needs and trying to incentivize free teams to upgrade by deleting data older than a year from free workspaces. Only the last 90 days of data is visible anyway; the change affects only those who upgrade to a paid plan and would previously have recovered all old data.

Adam Engst 15 comments

Pirate Ship Reduces Shipping Cost and Complexity

If shipping packages via USPS or UPS frustrates you, check out Pirate Ship. It offers steeply discounted shipping rates, an elegant interface with many shortcuts, and bits of humor.

Adam Engst 4 comments

How to Identify Good Uses for Generative AI Chatbots and Artbots

Adam Engst explores how you can use generative AI chatbots and artbots productively by helping you identify good uses such as brainstorming, programming, summarizing lengthy PDFs, and drafting difficult email messages. He also examines the utility of AI in Internet searches.

Adam Engst 49 comments

Notes on Post-Pandemic Business Travel

Adam Engst took his first business trip in four years and found that some things have changed. He took advantage of packing and flight tracking apps, got free Wi-Fi on several flights, discovered that USB Type-A to USB-C cables are essential, learned that TSA PreCheck is easier to get, and ran across his second App Clip ever. 

Adam Engst 13 comments

Do You Use It? macOS Versioning Sees Low Awareness and Adoption

The results of our poll asking how often you use macOS’s versioning feature show that nearly three-quarters of TidBITS readers either never use versioning or don’t even know what it is. But versioning could save you from losing work—it’s worth trying.

Adam Engst 20 comments

Arc Search iPhone App Now Syncs Arc Sidebar Tabs

An update to the Arc Search app for the iPhone gives Arc users using macOS and Windows access to all their tabs and the ability to save pages from the iPhone to the Arc sidebar.